Moskvitch 412
The Moskvitch 412 (Moskvich 412, M-412), also called 2140 in 1975 prior to discontinuation and 1500 SL outside USSR, was a small family car produced by Soviet manufacturer MZMA/AZLK from 1967 to 1976. It was also built as the Izh 412 by IZh in Izhevsk from 1967 to 1982 and replaced by the spun off Izh 2125 Kombi series thereafter. The 412, although featuring many flaws gradually fixed with its replacement, was one of the best known third generation Moskvitches and, until 1974, the best selling car in the history of AZLK. Basically, the Moskvitch 412 was an upgrade of the 408 model in terms of engine features, just as the second generation M-403 was an upgrade of the 402/407. Both cars are often wrongly considered as one chain of succession; in truth, the 412 was in planned development before the 408 production began, simply offering more features to the driver for a higher price. Unlike the 407, the car was made affordable by the absence of concurrency in many Eastern Bloc countries (besides its own relative, the 408). Design The 1500 cc was a slant inline-4 engine. Block, head and inlet manifold were aluminium castings. Steel cylinder liners were replaceable to enable easy repair of the engine instead of having to replace it entirely. The same engine was used on Moskvitch cars until the sixth generation (2142). In 1969 both the 412 and the related 408 had their body and taillights redesigned. These were notable for being the first Moskvitch models to feature square headlights and vertical rear lights and triangular turn signals, which passed on to the 2138/2140 in 1976. Until then, the 412 profited from heightened tailfins and tanned headlight lamps on export models. Another notable (but not unique, since it was used in other Russian cars at the time) feature were the so-called side lamps, mounted on the C-pillars on some vehicles (something like the American "opera lights"). It was launched in the United Kingdom in 1969, when the first 20 dealerships were set up and some 300 cars were sold; sales peaked in 1973 when some 14,500 cars were sold through a 268-dealer network. However, sales fell soon afterwards and the Moskvich was withdrawn from the United Kingdom before the end of the 1970s, by which time it had fallen behind fellow Soviet brand Lada in the sales charts. Outside the USSR, the 412 received contradictory reviews. At the time, Soviet automotive industry was mainly focusing on powertrain and speed handling, overlooking such issues as design, seating comfort and safety. Therefore, M-412 was the first Moskvitch to pass safety features tests in France, Bulgaria, Czechoslovakia, and Sweden in 1970—71, and in Germanyneeded in 1972, which might have seemed standard for Western car brand-influenced Europe, but was a considerable breakthrough for the Soviet engineers. The design features, however, would not be given consideration for Moskvitch as far as until its fourth generation, the Aleko. In 1975, it was planned to rename both M-408 and M-412 respectively as M-2138 and M-2140, primarily because AZLK was passing to 4-digit model codes, but also because of an earlier adaptation to the real M-2140, which entered in production starting 1976. Therefore, the only difference between this model and its successor, at the time, was the engine change. Category:Post-war Category:Moskvitch